When Apple CEO Steve Jobs made an appearance at the London offices of music publisher EMI earlier today, some had speculated that it would be to trumpet the much-anticipated news that that the Beatles catalog would finally appear on iTunes. Alas, it turns out that Jobs was on hand as part of a press event at which it was announced that EMI’s digital catalog (which includes artists like Coldplay, Korn, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Lily Allen) will soon be available on higher-quality downloads — and without copy-protection.
It might not sound like a big deal, but this announcement is likely to have a major impact on the way music is sold online. Currently, the great majority of tracks sold on the iTunes Store are from one of the so-called “Big Four” music companies: Sony BMG, Universal, Warner, and EMI. Citing fears of widespread file-sharing when they signed their original deals with Apple, these companies insisted that their tracks be sold with some form of digital rights management, or DRM, that prevented consumers from easily copying these files onto, say, other computers or digital music players. EMI is now the first of the Big Four to remove these limitations — andthe remaining three companies are expected to follow suit.
Still, withcopy-protected songs bought from iTunes making up only 3 percent of a typical iPod’smusic, do you think this is a fix that is too little, too late? Willthe availability of higher-quality, unprotected songs drive you to buy more songs on the iTunes Store — even considering that they’ll cost 30 cents more than the regular DRM versions? What other kind of changeswould you like Apple to make? And are you looking forward to buying theWhite Album online?
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one problem i have with the apple store is that you can’t buy music from their UK or Australia store — if it’s music, and you’re willing to pay money for it (taxes or whatever, treating it like an import) then they should want to sell it.
This is a step in the right direction, but I still think iTunes charges too much. Why should an album from itunes with inferior sound, not to mention no manufacturing, distribution and inventory expenses still cost roughly the same as a store-bought CD?
I hate that the so-called “Video iPod” I bought can’t play videos from anything except iTunes. Also, I wish you could transfer songs from your iPod into your iTunes without having to buy an extra (and non-Apple-approved) attachment. Basically, the rule should be that after you shell out $300 for an iPod, you should be able to do WHATEVER the hell you want to do with your music!
It is only a matter of time before music is free. Ticket prices and merchandise will skyrocket, but the labels just can’t keep up with technology.
Chris. when music is free, there will be no more music. (Ultimately, you get what you pay for in this world.) So you are a bit dumb, dude.
But today’s news is a step in the right direction, for honest people, at least.
To RayT: If you have a Mac, you can download a program called “Handbrake” that allows you to rip DVDs and play them on your Video iPod. I’ve done this quite a few times successfully. Not sure if there’s a Windows version of the program though.
To RayT:
Go to teh Jodix website (just type Jodix in your search engine). They have a freeware that will convert DVD’s and other videos into iPod format. Depending how big the file is, it will take some time, but it’s free, so it’s worth it.
RayT, you seem to be a hit! Please tell me what this attachment (nonapproved) thing is in order to get songs from your iPod to iTunes? I have 3 ipods, the old version, the nano and now the clip one. I invested a lot of money on my first one with ALOT of iTunes songs, which I cannot get. I backed up, but with 30 cd’s to choose from without labels, I would rather have the free attachment.
I love iTunes, it’s better than going to the store, it’s instant gradification for me. If I hear a song I love and don’t know who sings it or what the title is, I wait for it to show up and whaa-la, there it is!
Le sigh… still waiting for a remastered Beatles catalogue that I can buy on old-school CDs.
Just a comment about music and it’s availability. Music has allways been and will continue to be created for the pleasure of creating the music. The sound is free. It’s the recording or stage perforance thats the expense.
I want to be able to buy songs from the UK or from the USA (I’m from Canada)! That I think would stop a lot of illegale downloading… it’s the internet a global community, and music the international language!
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